There’s a misconception that every microorganism is dangerous and the only good microbe is a dead bacteria. Kind of like the Sarah Palin view of microbiology. Only 10-15% of all microbes are infectious or have been shown to be infectious. That’s rather sobering and so is the fact that life on earth could not exist without microorganisms. They were the first accepted inhabitants of the world. The vast majority of organisms are in fact, useful. In 2008, water bears (tardigrades) were the first animals demonstrated to be able to survive the vacuum of space. They are virtually indestructible and can survive being blasted with radiation, intense pressures and years of desiccation. Specimens were launched into space by Swedish scientists and they returned unharmed after eight days.